


Good Cop, Bad Cop

by Kv0the



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Explicit Language, Graphic Description, M/M, Slow Build, Will update as I go along, derek is a cop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-18 06:57:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14847923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kv0the/pseuds/Kv0the
Summary: A serial killer is terrorising Beacon Hills and the Sheriff's Department hasn't found any leads in 3 months. That combined with a rogue Omega trespassing on Hale pack territory means Officer Hale has quite a full plate to deal with.Stiles, unhappy with the toll the case is having on his dad, decides to take matters into his own hands.





	Good Cop, Bad Cop

**Author's Note:**

> Title is a placeholder for the moment but may become permanent.
> 
> I will be updating the tags as I update chapters.

Derek stood staring at the smouldering husk in front of him, trying his best to ignore the smell of burning flesh in the air. This is one time where a normal sense of smell would be warmly welcomed. The damage to the property itself was mostly contained to sections of the ground floor due to the quick response by the fire department. He studied the cracks in the heavy door that lay on the floor near the entrance. It was splintered heavily and looked as if it was ripped right off its hinges. Someone, or some _thing_ , strong did this.

He sniffed inconspicuously, trying to catch some inkling of another wolf but came up with nothing except for smokiness and a distinct rotting smell. One he'd come across twice before.  At first he had assumed the smell was coming from the dead victims, but they were always too fresh... He shifted his attention to the body, already knowing what he'd find; a few large lacerations covering the torso of the victim, exactly like the other 2 bodies. They looked reminiscent of claw-marks but on a large scale.

"Derek," Erica whispered, accompanying it with a sharp nudge. He shot her an annoyed look and received one in return. She moved her head slightly and Derek followed its direction to where Sheriff Stilinski was looking at him expectantly. He'd probably tried to get Derek's attention a few times. Shit.

"Uh, yes, Sheriff?"

"You okay there, son?" John asked with a touch of concern, eyes flicking to the burnt corpse for a moment. "You were staring pretty intensely at Jane Doe over there."

"What?" Derek asked dumbly. He felt a squeeze on his shoulder with what seemed like comfort from Erica which only added to his confusion. Why was everyone - he tensed up as he connected the dots. "Yeah, I'm fine, boss. Just got lost in my thoughts for a bit." Or at least he  _was_  fine. Until they reminded him of Paige.

"You sure? You can go back to the station if you-"

"I'm fine," Derek interrupted. "Sir," he added, wincing slightly as he remembered who he was talking to.

John searched Derek's eyes for a minute or two before turning back to the crime scene. "Take a breather, you two," he adds over his shoulder. They both nod and step out into the front garden which was illuminated by a grim, white electrical light. They were lucky the porch light still worked after the fire.

"Derek, I- " Erica started.

"Third body in 3 months, all of which have the same type of cuts on their body. Looks like Beacon Hills might actually have a serial killer." 

Erica narrowed her eyes at the obvious change in subject but let it slide, opting instead to hum in agreement. Murders were a very rare occurrence in a small town like Beacon Hills, never mind so many in such a short time-frame. The fact that all 3 had the same M.O. only made things worse. Derek was not looking forward to dealing with the media and the public reaction. Or the Argents' reactions for that matter - the slash marks did not help to ease the tension between the two families.

"You think it's the same guy?" She asked him.

"The cuts are pretty distinct."

"But neither of the 2 previous cases involved fire. Serial killers don't normally change their M.O. drastically, but I suppose it's hard to call what his is exactly since we don't have a lot of victims to base it on."

"There's a particular smell that pervaded each of them though, and it's here too."

"What smell?” She questioned. “I'd try to pick it out but I don't exactly want to fill my nostrils with the smell of cooked human." Erica wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"I don't know... it kinda smells like death."

"Derek. There's a dead body." Erica deadpanned. "Even John could pick out the scent of death in the air." Derek rolled his eyes in response. "Do you think this case is related to the Omega?" She added in a more serious, hushed tone. There had been signs of another werewolf trespassing on Hale land in the past few months but they had never been able to catch sight of them yet. 

"I can't pick any other werewolf scents up, can you?" He asked.

"Huh, actually I do pick up some-" she starts, but before she gets the chance to finish Derek is already whipping out his handgun and pointing it at the bushes at the side of the garden. "This is the Sheriff's Department, come out with your hands up. Now!"

"Wait, Derek, it's -" 

A dark-haired, tan teenage boy falls out of the bushes landing on his face. Judging by the murderous look to boy shoots behind him, Derek guesses he was pushed. A paler boy with wild hair stepping out from the bushes with a sheepish grin confirms his suspicions.

" _So_  not cool, dude."

"We were caught anyway, Scott. May as well have some fun whilst the ship sinks, you know," the pale boy says smirking slightly, but behind the smile Derek can tell the boy is quite nervous.

“What?” Scott asked with confusion.

"Stiles, Scott, what are you two  _doing_  here?" Erica questioned before Stiles could elaborate, letting out an exasperated sigh. _Wait, Erica knows these guys?_ "Why am I not even surprised, Stiles?" She lets out another huff. The name 'Stiles' rang a bell for some reason, but Derek couldn't quite put his finger on it. He ponders on it whilst he fastens his handgun back in its holster.

“I just wanted to have a movie night with Allison, he dragged me here” Scott said quickly.

“Way to throw me under the bus,” Stiles hissed.

“Way to throw me out of an _actual bush_ ,” Scott shot back.

“Touché.”

"This is a  _crime scene_ boys, not a playground," Derek chastised, earning eyerolls from everyone, even Erica.

"We're 18, not 8," Stiles snapped at Derek before returning his attention to Erica. "Anyway we're really sorry, Erica, aren't we Scott?" The other boy nodded his agreement. "Promise it won't happen again. My, look at the time, it's getting late," Stiles babbles, yawning for emphasis. "We're both feeling quite tired so we're gonna head off now. Nice bumping into you though!" The pale boy frantically helped his friend up and they start making their way towards the street, almost at a jog. As they do, John happens to come outside looking to consult Derek about the case. He does a double take when he spots the duo making their hasty escape.

"Hey, hold on a second," Derek started before getting cut off.

"STILES!" John boomed out causing Derek and Erica to wince slightly at the volume. The penny finally drops for Derek. He's the Sheriff's kid.

Both the teens physically cringe and halt in their tracks. They look to each other and seem to have a mini argument before Stiles eventually launches into a "Hey, Daddio. What's up?"

" _What's up?_  I'd like for you two to tell me actually. Care to explain what the  _hell_  you are both doing at the scene of a possible _murder?_  "

Stiles' mouth opens and closes several times like a fish out of water before he decides on "Wanna take this one, Scott?" He earned a hard elbow to the ribs in return. "Ow, ok!" he placates whilst rubbing his side. "Well, you see, Scott and I, well we - yeah I got nothing." The kid's constant yapping got on Derek's nerves, yet for some reason he found himself smiling a little. The whole scenario seemed quite comical, but all humour left him when John sent him a withering look.

"Stiles, this is serious. How am I supposed to explain this to people? I told you to stop listening in to the police radio,” John pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly before addressing the pair again. "Car. Now. We'll discuss this when I’m done here - after I have a phone call with Melissa." John added, looking pointedly at Scott who squirmed under his gaze. "Take them to the station" he directed at the deputies.

"The station?" Stiles sputtered out, then turned to glare at Scott – He had elbowed Stiles once again in an attempt to shut his best friend up.

"Wait, why us? Erica interjected indignantly.

"Yes, Stiles. The station. We've a possible serial killer and you were found at the house where someone died. I can't just let this slide that easily. And you two," he pointed at Derek and Erica, "were letting them walk away which is against protocol. I'll finish up here with Parrish. Go."

“But we’ve only just got here…” Derek trails off at the look John sends him. “Right away, Sir,” he opts for instead.

Erica huffed petulantly and stomped towards the car, followed quickly by the two teenagers. Derek can hear them arguing quietly amongst themselves - sounds like they're playing 'the blame game' - before Stiles suddenly sprints towards the car shouting 'shotgun'. With a sigh, Derek makes his way to the car too. This was going to be a long trip back to the station.

 

**********

 

“Stiles, stop kicking my seat.”

Stiles rolled his eyes at Derek but stopped nonetheless. Only to start drumming his fingers on the window instead. He saw Derek glare at him in the rearview mirror and smiled innocently in return. It looked like Derek was developing a twitch in his left eye. Stiles had never felt prouder.

In short, Stiles was bored. Scott had fallen asleep 2 minutes into the journey and Mr. Tall, Dark and Eyebrows didn’t appear to have a vocabulary beyond ‘stop that’, ‘do you have to talk so much?’ and an expansive range of facial expressions, mostly variations of annoyance. Stiles blamed everyone else; when he’s bored he fidgets and babbles. Although when he’s not bored he also fidgets and babbles. Granted, he might be doing some of it on purpose just to annoy Derek, but his reactions were the most entertainment he was getting during this journey.

At least Erica was talking to him a bit, although she still wasn’t quite over the fact that Stiles had gotten her into trouble with his dad.

“Stiles, I will break your fingers.”

“Are cops supposed to threaten citizens?” Stiles asked with a raised eyebrow. Silence answered him. “Unless you’re playing bad cop with me, in which case I guess I’ll play the criminal. Always up for some roleplay,” He smirked, earning a chortle from Erica. He cleared his throat as if to prepare for a speech and flung his arms out flamboyantly. “Oh, Officer, I’ve been a _bad, bad_ -“

“Stiles. Shut up.” Derek interrupted, then turned to Erica. “Is he always like this?”

“Afraid so. It’s a condition that unfortunately has no cure. Consider yourself lucky that this is your first proper interaction with him.”

“First and _last_.”

“You think so?” Erica laughed, slapping Derek on the shoulder playfully. “Sorry, Der, he’s like herpes. Once you’ve come into contact with him, no matter how hard you try, he somehow keeps on coming back to you.”

“Thanks. I’ve always wanted to be compared to an STI. Friend of the Month award goes to Erica Reyes,” Stiles deadpanned. She blew him a kiss in response. “Oh, and my house is the other direction” he added slyly as Derek made a right turn. Derek acted as if he didn’t hear. “It was worth a shot,” Stiles muttered under his breath, to which Derek scoffed at.

The car then veered around a sharp corner, causing Scott’s head to flump on to Stile’s shoulder. Stiles watched as a line of drool spilled on to his shirt. Great. Stiles sent a silent prayer of apology to whichever god he appeared to have pissed off tonight.

 

Once they were at the precinct, Derek and Erica realised they weren’t entirely sure what the Sheriff wanted them to do with the pair. They decided on just making Stiles and Scott to sit at two empty desks. It was late so there were plenty to choose from. Stiles chose 2 seats at an inconspicuous distance from Derek and Erica; he was hoping to hear some details about the case. No matter what his dad said Stiles could tell that this case was seriously stressing him out, so Stiles decided that he would provide a helping hand, even if that helping hand wasn’t wanted.

“I can’t believe your dad sent us to the station… Do you think he meant for them two to keep us in a holding cell?” Scott asked with wide eyes.

“Nah,” Stiles replied banally, “it was a heat of the moment thing. Just wait for him to calm down a bit.” Or at least Stiles hoped so. He sounded a lot more confident than he actually was, but he wanted to put Scott at ease.

 “What do you think our punishment is going to be?”

“No TV for a month?” Stiles suggested with fake optimism. Scott snorted derisively in response. “Yeah, maybe not. I’m sure my dad and your mom will come up with something devilishly evil together.”

“Aw man, he’s going to call my mom. She’s gonna kill me,” Scott moaned and placed his head in his hands. Stiles patted his back comfortingly.

“Yeah, we’re in deep shit. But at least we’re in deep shit together, right? Don’t be such a worry wart.”

Stiles ears perked up as he noticed for the first time that Derek and Erica were deep in conversation. He must’ve missed out on some juicy info already.

“Thanks,” Scott started to say only to be hushed quietly by Stiles. “Why, what’s up?” He continued, not getting the hint. Can’t a guy eavesdrop in peace? Scott huffed and folded his arms across his chest, clearly unhappy at being ignored.

“-but we still have to consider the fact that the perpetrator decided to burn this victim and not the other two,” Erica complained. “Is this a new perp, a development with the old one or something else entirely?”

“It’s hard to say without any facts,” Derek mused.

“If only we’d had the chance to stay on the scene to analyse things more,” She huffed and glanced over at Stiles.

“Sheriff Stilinski will be back soon with the report. We’ll find out all the information then.”

“The fire was accidental,” Stiles interjected much to the deputies’ surprise. They both turned to look at him, causing him to wither slightly under their gaze.

“What?” Derek asked after a few moments of silence.

“I mean, it was _probably_ accidental,” Stiles amended.

“Explain,” Derek said flatly, not quite believing Stiles.

“I could see into the kitchen window from the bushes and the stove looked absolutely charred. As in more so than the rest of the kitchen. If I had to guess I’d say that the woman had something cooking when she got murdered so, she uh, didn’t turn it off obviously. Then boom, fire,” Stiles gesticulated to demonstrate an explosion. Scott looked at his friend in awe; he’d hidden in the same spot but hadn’t pick up any of that.

“So you have a hunch you mean. No proof?” Erica asked whilst Derek sighed with exasperation, causing Stiles to blush slightly with embarrassment.

“Isn’t it more likely than your ‘copycat’ idea or a change in M.O.?” Scott piped up in Stiles’ defence.

“He does have a point.” Erica said pensively to Derek.

“Let’s just wait for John, okay? No need to play guessing games.”

The conversation died down after that much to Stiles’ disappointment; he hadn’t really learnt anything new about the deaths. The sheriff arrived at the station about an hour later with a hard look in his eye, but Stiles could see the underlying exhaustion creeping through. He stood with his arms folded and studied the boys for a long minute before speaking, “Get in the cruiser.”

Stiles and Scott looked at each other with confusion. “It’s late and you both have school tomorrow, we can talk after classes,” John continued. “Besides, it’ll give me more time to mull over ideas with Melissa,” John said with a wicked smirk, drawing out groans from the pair in front of him. Stiles was not looking forward to that conversation. Not at all.


End file.
